The Clergy of the Church of England Database 1540-1835 (CCEd), launched in 1999 and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, makes available and searchable the principal records of clerical careers from over 50 archives in England and Wales with the aim of providing coverage of as many clerical lives as possible from the Reformation to the mid-nineteenth century. The Database fills major gaps in our knowledge of one of the most important professions in early modern England and Wales. It provides an invaluable research tool for both national and local, academic and amateur historians, and genealogists who often need to discover biographical information about individual clergymen or more about the succession of clergy in a particular place.

CCEd is a collaboration between historians at King’s College London, the University of Kent and the University of Reading, and it is supported by the Centre for Computing in the Humanities at King’s College London.

The CCEd’s major features include:

• Records relating to the major events of clerical careers – ordination, appointments as curates, rectors and lecturers
• Information about parishes, chapelries and the many secular institutions and persons with chaplains
• Information about patrons, many of them women
• Information about schools and schoolteachers
• Two search engines, one ‘Basic’ and the other ‘Advanced’, for investigating the records, as well as a Browse facility
• A website, containing a host of useful aids, such as descriptions and maps for dioceses, lists of bishops and parishes, a glossary of terms, and an Online Journal containing essays and ‘notes and queries’

How can I help?

From the beginning CCEd has been a collaborative project. Over the coming years the Project team will continue to work to extend and improve the resources available through this site, and we welcome the assistance of our users in this work. If you think that you may be in a position to help, please contact us.

Content of the Database

CCEd is a developing resource. Some data that has been collected is not yet available via the public website. New material is continually being added and corrections are being made. To find out what diocese and periods are covered, go to Current content of the Database. Regular upgrades take place every two months, so please check the site regularly if if you cannot now find what you are looking for.